Hartland school board member's comment sparks controversy
HARTLAND, Wis. - The use of one word by a Hartland-Lakeside School Board member is prompting lots of angry words from parents.
At an Oct. 17 board meeting, the conversation among board members revolved around a social emotional learning curriculum and diversity. The comment from one board member left some parents speechless.
"My point is that you should be judging people based on their character and their merit, not for skin color," Board Member John Harter said during the meeting. "We always talk about, ‘Oh we’ve got colored students in our school.’ That’s indifferent to me. I appreciate people from different backgrounds."
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"It was just like, are you kidding?" said Katie Robinson. "One mom made a comment, then he said something about ‘colored students’ and it was like wait hold on what?"
"It was that reaction of ‘what?’" said parent Ann Grevenkamp.
Hartland-Lakeside School Board Member John Harter
FOX6 News asked Grevenkamp and Robinson if they think Harter misspoke.
"No. I don’t think he misspoke. If he misspoke, then he misspoke several other times," said Grevenkamp.
"I find it hard to believe he doesn’t know that’s not how we talk to people and refer to people," Robinson said.
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Parents who spoke with FOX6 said they want more diversity training for board members, sending the message that words matter.
"There’s no reason to refer to people like that. There’s just none. I don’t want my kids doing that. I don’t want other kids doing that," Robinson said. "We’re a predominantly white area and saying things like that is going to keep us like this forever."
As of Friday night, Oct. 28, Harter had not responded for comment. Tom Harter, board president and John's father, told FOX6 News he does not believe his son had any intent of being disrespectful and the board is looking into it.
Board Member Ann Charlesworth told FOX6 she was "dumbfounded," writing in a statement:
"I was completely dumbfounded when I heard John Harter refer to students as "colored." It was especially revealing because he made the statement while trying to prove that he wasn’t racist. I hope he recognizes his use of such an archaic and offensive term has no place in our community."